AD | Car insurance. It’s one of the biggest expenses for first time drivers, isn’t it? And one of the subjects closest to my heart after having to shell out for two of our cars recently. I’m all about ways to find the cheapest car insurance if possible because it’s also a must have for so many reasons (legal being one of them). So, whether you’re a new driver or an experienced one, if you want to save money on your car insurance, here are my top 11 tips to help.
How can I get cheaper car insurance as a new driver?
Unsurprisingly, the Internet is your friend here. In fact, if you type in “cheapest car insurance for first time drivers” the majority of the top searches are along these lines:
- Who has the cheapest insurance for first time drivers
- How do you lower your car insurance
- What can I say to make car insurance cheaper
- How can young drivers get cheaper car insurance
- Car insurance save money
- Cheap car insurance
You get the idea. And why not? I mean no-one wants to be paying more money than they have to, especially as a new driver or first time driver. So the first thing you need to do is…
Shop around for the cheapest car insurance
Online comparison sites are without doubt the easiest and quickest way to find the cheap car insurance quotes, although admittedly it’s faff to have to input all your details every time. My favourite is uSwitch, partly because it’s easy to use, and partly because the television adverts of some other car insurance companies drive me up the wall! But no pain, no gain and if you want to compare car insurance, it’s the best way to go.
Pay annually
Undoubtedly paying all in one go, rather than in monthly instalments, is the most cost-effective option when purchasing a car insurance policy. But… if you use a credit card, please remember that’s not free money. You will have to pay it all off, unless you’re prepared to face swingeing interest payments on top.
Third party vs. fully comprehensive
There are three different types of car insurance to choose from: third party, third party fire and theft, and fully comprehensive. Tempting as it may seem, don’t assume third party insurance is the cheapest car insurance to go for. Statistics show more claims are made on third party insurance, so costs can be higher than fully comprehensive.
Consider the extras
Car insurance tends to come with add-ons such as courtesy car cover, legal cover and windscreen cover. You should check if these are part of the standard benefits of your car insurance policy, or whether you have to pay extra for them. If you do have to pay extra, then it’s worth considering if you really need them all?
Choose your car carefully
Passing your driving test and choosing your first car is exciting. But if you go for a big car, be prepared to pay higher premiums for that larger engine. Whereas a smaller car with a smaller engine will attract a lower premium – like our current runaround, a nippy and practical little Suzuki Swift (my first car was a little white Fiat 126). And if you’re lucky enough to buy a classic car, for example, choose a specialist classic car insurer for tailored premiums too.
Consider a telematics black box
Not just for pilots, telematics (minus the Head Up Display) can be very beneficial for first time drivers or younger insurers. Your insurer sends you a telemetric monitoring device to install in your car (on the battery) so they can track your driving remotely. Yes, it’s a little Big Brother, but if you drive carefully, you’ll qualify for lower premiums thanks to a good driving record. We had a telematics tracker on one of our cars and it prompted us to drive a lot more carefully. No more gunning the accelerator and burning rubber (ouch, those tyres) when pulling out of junctions!
Increase your excess if you can
All insurance premiums have a compulsory excess that you have to pay in the event of any claim. But there’s a voluntary excess too, and if you choose to pay a higher voluntary excess, it will help you get cheaper car insurance. Just bear in mind you will have to pay this in the event of any claim though.
Set a mileage limit for cheaper car insurance
Car insurance companies calculate the less time you spend on the road means there’s less chance that you’ll have an accident. I mean, it makes sense, doesn’t it? If you’re working from home and not travelling as much, then set your mileage limit at, say, 5000 miles a year. Or, as I did recently, 4,999 miles for a lower premium. Although we do plan on a few staycations this year, so I may need to increase that limit later.
Add another experienced driver
Insurance companies like to see older drivers or more experienced drivers on the car insurance policy, for example, your mum, dad, or partner. Studies have shown that shared driving tends to encourage more careful driving, which in turn leads to finding the cheapest car insurance for first time drivers in particular.
Consider an advanced driving course
It might seem like an extra hoop to jump through, particularly if you’ve only recently passed your driving test. But taking an advanced driving course may help you find cheaper car insurance. Courses typically take between three and six months to complete and focus on things like control, observation, timing, positioning, and the ability to deal with unpredictable roads. Not all insurers offer a discount though, so if you’re after the cheapest car insurance as a first time driver, do your research carefully.
Car safety
If you can, keeping your car in a garage or on a private drive will attract lower premiums. Obviously this isn’t always possible in towns and cities, so factory fitted immobilisers and trackers are also ways of reducing those new driver insurance costs. When budgeting for a vehicle, comparing car financing options can also help new drivers manage the overall cost of car ownership.
Bonus tips on how to find the cheapest car insurance after your first year
Once you’ve clocked up your first year as a new driver, here are a couple of bonus tips to help you find cheap car insurance as a younger driver. Including looking after your car in all weathers too, of course.
Don’t auto renew
When you get the renewal letter, call your insurer and ask what they can offer you. And when they ask if you’ve had any comparable quotes, tell them not yet, because you’d like to give them the first chance. Or, if you have shopped around, then tell them the package they need to beat to keep your custom. I do this every time and I’ve saved between £30 and £70 on my annual premiums.
Build up your no claims discount
The same as any insurance, be it a contents or travel policy. Because the more years you don’t claim, the more reliable and safer driver you’re seen to be.
So there we are, 11 tips to help first-time drivers find cheap car insurance, plus a couple of bonus tips. I hope you’ve found them useful and that they’ll help you save money on your car insurance too. Good luck, and happy motoring!
How did you go about finding the cheapest car insurance as a first-time driver? Did you use any of these suggestions? What motoring tips and tricks can you share to help younger drivers find the best deal for cheap car insurance? And if you’re looking for a nippy and practical little car for a new driver, visit this website and check out the reviews 🙂
* This is a sponsored post – please see my Disclaimer.
Yep, every year I ring the insurers up and ask if they can match the cheapest quote I’ve found on the irritating meerkat’s site! They usually can’t match/beat it exactly, but like this year, they came within £6 of the lowest quote, and I felt that was a good enough reduction to stay with the same company. I’ve been doing this for over 5 years now, but I do still find it awkward having to phone to ask for a discount. I’m sure I heard on the Martin Lewis Money Programme that it’s going to be made illegal for insurers to keep bumping the prices up every year for existing customers, so fingers crossed!
Oh that’s interesting about the Money Programme – and yes, it’s hugely irritating that prices keep getting bumped up, particularly when you haven’t claimed!
Even though I am not planning to buy a car right now but for sure I see some hidden tips I wouldn’t have known. When I get one, I will make sure I follow them Thanks for sharing…
Thank you, I’m glad they were useful!
This post is so helpful. I’ve been having a driver’s license for quite some time but I don’t have my own car. I’m definitely planning on getting one in the future and this post will come in handy.
Antonia || Sweet Passions
I’m so glad, I hope you get a good deal when you get your car too 🙂
I’m learning to drive now, so thank you for all these tips! I’ll definitely be sure not to autorenew when it comes to it.
Definitely don’t, I’m sure you’ll get a better deal!
Amazing tips here, especially for newbie drivers! I’ve been driving for a few years now but my insurance is still crazy money – I’m hoping it’ll go down this year x
Thank you – I’d honestly recommend looking into a telematics insurer, the savings are brilliant, even for more experienced drivers 🙂 x
Interesting article and helpful to people purchasing their first car. Do not auto renew is a major factor in most insurances. The easiest thing to do but usually the most costly!
Absolutely, it’s so time consuming, isn’t it?
This is such a helpful post! My boyfriends brother was about to have his driving test just before Corona locked us down, so I’ll have to save this post for when things go back to normal and he can start driving xx
Oh thank you, and I really hope these tips will help him! x
So many great tips in this post! I passed my test years ago but never needed a car, when I finally get round to having my own car, I’ll be coming back to this post for sure!
Rosie
Thank you, Rosie, glad it was helpful!
I always find it interesting to read how different places around the world determine insurance premiums. It’s likely just me being a geek after working in the insurance industry for 7 years lol! Here, in Canada, the size of the engine doesn’t have a direct impact on our rates. Instead, you want to look at the type of vehicle and which drivers are most often taking it out as prices are based on how much is paid out in claims for that vehicle. For example, a small car that’s super common with newer drivers may have a higher rate because they are more likely to get in accidents. Minivans also have a higher rate as parents get distracted by children in their vehicles, there are more medical payouts with large numbers of children in the vehicle, etc.
Wow, that’s really different to over here in the UK – so interesting about the smaller cars and minivans too – true story, I pranged one of our cars a long time ago because I got distracted by Flora in the back seat, so I can see why the premiums are higher!
I love this article. It’s a full guide to car insurance. I’ll keep it in mind when renewing mine. Thank you!!
Thank you, glad it was helpful 🙂
I don’t drive myself, but this post will be so helpful for my friends who are young, new drivers! Insurance can be so so expensive for first-time drivers and I love this post Lisa x
Thank you, Eleanor, I do hope this will help them! x
I was curious to see what people do for car insurance in other countries. This has a lot of helpful information that I think is pretty universal. I will have a young driver within a few years, so these are good things to keep in mind. Thanks!
Oh, exciting (and expensive!) times ahead then – good luck 🙂
Such a helpful post Lisa! Admittedly I haven’t even passed my theory yet so probably won’t be looking at car insurance for a while but know when I do finally pass that I’ll be coming back to this one.
Good luck with the theory, Hannah, and I hope this post will help in due course!
Such a helpful post for new drivers! I remember my first insurance was surprisingly really low which I was chuffed about. I added my Mum and Dad on the insurance and that brought it right down! I also did Pass Plus 🙂 x
Oh that’s really good – it sounds like adding your parents and doing Pass Plus worked then! x
These are all great tips! I haven’t had a car since moving to London, but back home my parents always check with their current service near end date of they can get a better deal, I mean asking can never be bad, in case they will say they won’t. Thanks for sharingx
Absolutely, always worth asking, you never know! x
Really great tips in this post. I will use some
Thanks for sharing
https://uncuaderno4cero.wordpress.com/
You’re welcome, good luck!
These are all very sound tips Lisa. But ‘Don’t Auto-renew’ for me holds considerable value. No pun intended! 😀
Glad to hear it – and yes, that made me smile!
This is brilliant advice It has been 6 years since I first needed car insurance. I was hopeful that being over 30 my insurance wouldn’t be too bad but WOW some of the quotes made me want to cry!
I had no clue where to start so this would have been really helpful. It is amazing how quickly it comes down though, 6 years later and I am paying nearly £700 less a year! Hoping to get it to around £150 for the year this time around. It is in fact a job for this week. I will check out uswitch actually as I normally use money supermarket x
£150 would be amazing but a saving of £700 is awesome, that’s great, Claire x
I keep getting dinged with high insurance costs because of the car I drive. I always try to get what makes sense, I don’t want to cheap out too much and have to pay more out of pocket if something happens. I found you can also negotiate when you’re renewing your insurance as well. Thanks for sharing these tips!
Nancy ✨
Absolutely, Nancy, it makes no sense to go for the cheapest of the cheap and then find you have to pay more in the event of a claim!
Great post! I’m going to start my hunt for one of our boys and his first auto insurance policy. This is timely for me. I appreciate your thoroughness. Thanks!
Thank you – good luck with the insurance quotes!
Thanks!
This is such incredible and helpful advice for all first drivers looking for insurance Lisa! x
Lucy | http://www.lucymary.co.uk
Thank you, Lucy, that’s very kind x
Great advice. My 18 year old son is waiting for lockdown to end so that he can take lessons. Car insurance for young ones is something I know little about, so thanks for this. I’ll save your post to return to 👍
Thank you – I hope it will help when he needs his own car insurance in due course 🙂
Great tips, Lisa! I would definitely go with paying all in one go too. Because I will have other monthly stuff and adding this would be more worrying. I’m saving this for when I get my own car. Thank you for sharing!
Thank you, Jack, I’m so glad this was helpful 🙂
These tips are great! There are so many things to consider when you’re buying a car and it can be so extremely overwhelming, so a lot like this will help to clear the mind a lot. Thanks for sharing 😊
That’s very good to hear, Lisa, I’m glad the list is useful 🙂
Ahh, interesting! I am a bit lazy so keep renewing with the same company but I should definitely do more research – I have no idea if they are the cheapest! Thanks for all the tips, Lisa.
Oh definitely look around – or at least ask your existing company for a better quote!
At least the premiums go down each year, if there are no claims. When we moved to UK we had to pay a lot, despite my husband being a very experienced driver. We now pay less than 40% on what we paid in the first year, pretty similar to what Claire mentioned.
I agree with everything you mentioned, with one exception, the black box. I don’t think a lower premium justifies the loss of privacy in the long term.
I’m glad your premiums have gone down, that’s great to hear. TBH I was jesting about Big Brother. The telematics monitor is only so they can track if you speed regularly, for example. And once when we had to take it off to change our car battery, they phoned me straightaway to check that the car hadn’t been stolen, so that was good 🙂
I hopefully have my test this year but bought a car to learn in and I know once I pass insurance will go up! I done what you suggested with adding an experienced driver and it brought my price down quite a bit! Think I might look at the black box for when I pass though to try keep the cost down! Great tips, thank you!
Oh that’s really good to hear, I’m so glad – good luck with your test in due course!
This are the same things to do in Malaysia too. Btw, I like all the cars in this post. Thank you for sharing.
Thank you, Fadima – the yellow MG is mine 🙂 but the other two are stock photos, alas!
This is such a helpful post that is useful even to those of us across the pond! Thanks for sharing.
You’re welcome, Jodie, and that’s great to hear!
Great post! Thank you for sharing this! It is a very helpful post and I think these tips will be very helpful to a lot of people. I definitely agree about doing your research to find the best deals!
Thank you so much, I’m very pleased you found it useful 🙂
This is such a helpful post. You’ve included so much information and really broken it down into manageable chunks. I’ll definitely be referring back to this post when I’ve finally learnt to drive.
Ah, thank you, Kelly, that’s so good to hear – good luck with learning to drive meantime!
Hi Lisa,
This is super useful, thank you for sharing. My daughter is just about to start learning how to drive, and I’m dreading the insurance bill as I expect it’ll be more than her first car is likely to cost..
Best regards,
Gavin
Thank you, Gavin, I’m so glad this was helpful – good luck to your daughter as she learns to drive too!
This is such a helpful post! I don’t have a car, but my boyfriend does & his mother works for a car leasing company here so he gets a good insurance rate through her.
Thank you – and that’s great, your boyfriend is lucky!
Such an amazing post! I passed my test 8 years ago, but these are all still useful tips now tbf!
Katie | katieemmabeauty.com
Oh thank you so much, I’m so pleased to hear that!
I will recommend this tips thank you
You’re welcome, glad they were useful 🙂
Useful tips, best post I have read, useful one.
Thank you, that’s very kind.
Thanks for the great tips.
Glad they were helpful.
I will recommend this tips👌👍
Thank you, glad they were helpful 🙂
Great post! I found the information really useful and easy to understand. Thanks for sharing your knowledge with us.
You’re very welcome, thank you. 🙂